Renteria homer fans Giants wild card bid

SAN FRANCISCO – Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam in the seventh inning as the San Francisco Giants pulled even in the National League wild-card race with Colorado, beating the Rockies, 9-5, Sunday for a three-game sweep.

The Giants moved into a second-place tie in the NL West with Colorado, six games behind Los Angeles. The Rockies lost their season-high fifth in a row.

Renteria homered with two outs to overcome a 5-2 deficit, connecting two pitches after Rafael Betancourt (0-1) relieved Franklin Morales. Renteria hit his eighth career grand slam and second in two years against Betancourt.

Renteria also doubled in a run and matched his career high with five RBIs.

Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki hit back-to-back solo homers in the fifth inning to put the Rockies ahead, but Colorado’s bullpen couldn’t hold a 4-1 lead.

At Philadelphia, Carlos Ruiz hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh inning and Joe Blanton pitched seven strong innings to lead Philadelphia to a 3-2 victory over Atlanta.

Blanton (9-6) allowed one run on three hits in seven innings, making it 12 straight starts he has allowed three earned runs or less. Due to a lack of run support, though, the right-hander was just 4-3 in his previous 11 appearances. It looked like more of the same Sunday night until the seventh inning when Ruiz broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run double to left. (AP)